[Philmont]: Weight Planning

A couple of thoughts on weight.

First on the boys, consider that Philmont in 95% mental and only 10% physical , at least for the boys. What is it about the lighter scouts? Are they runners, or swimmers, or soccer players, or just plain wirey? Having had crews of big, manly football players and "little" runts who ran and played soccer, I'll take the runts any day. They aren't carrying any extra weight in the form of body mass and are usually extra motivated by all the people who look at them and say that they cannot do it. Philmont is truly a mental test and the best conditioned person who does not have a positve mental attitude, who cannot deal with discomfort from rain or hail, or dust or endless supplies of oatmeal and crackers, will miss the magnificence of the place wallowing in their own self pity.

As far as weight goes, you can only truly control your personal things. You should not take much more than what is on the Philmont list . Any extra items should truly be necessary and have multiple purposes.

My experience has shown that the Crew gear weighs about 20-25 pounds. This includes 12-14 meals ( which occurs about 3 times, 3 liters of water perperson ( weight about 6 pounds, remember water weighs 7.48 pounds per gallon, plus the container) all crew gear, which is pots pans, bear bags, stoves, fuel, ropes, yummy bag, etc, and half a tent/poles/stakes,

Thus all you really have control over is your pack, sleeping bag, and personal clothes/items. See what you can use to do double duty, rainpants for long pants, rain jacket for wind, etc. Share what you can, toothpaste, xtra batteries, bug repellant, sun screen, etc. Lots more good ideas will follow.

The other thing to rememeber is that very few of the treks and the related hikes are really that long. The longest days occur later in the trek, The first two days are one to two miles for ranger training and getting acclimated. Three to five miles is a normal day and 7-10 is a very long day and you only have one of those if at all. So I am not saying do not bother or care about your pack weight, I am saying that one or two pounds here or there in equipment or luxuries is not likely to be a back breaker for anyone.

The most important thing is to do you pre hikes and planning treks with as close to full packs as possible, even if you have to add sandbags or extra weight. This is not a "get in shape" need, the few overnights you will take will not do that, rather it gets everyone used to their equipment and they get to play with all the pack straps, belts, adjust the loads, etc. A properly fitted and adjusted pack, carried properly goes along weigh in aiding one in carrying a large load, when needed

Enjoy!YIS
Hiking Czar a.k.a.
Fred Mussler, Scoutmaster
Troop 357 Raleigh, NC
Eagle Class of 75
Philmont 1990,98,00,02
Double H Ranch 2004 -715-500
 

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Received on Sat Nov 15 11:00:09 2003